Oklahoma
Oklahoma softball tops Texas, completes sweep in Women’s College World Series championship
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma made college softball history Thursday night at the expense of its most despised rival.
The Sooners (59-7) became the first Division I softball team in NCAA history to win four consecutive national titles with a wild 8-4 win over Texas in the second game of the best-of-three championship series at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. The Sooners won the first game 8-3 on Wednesday.
Texas (55-10), which edged OU for the Big 12’s regular-season championship and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended arguably its best season in school history by falling to Oklahoma for the second time in three seasons in the WCWS championship series.
More: Texas softball’s fixes in WCWS final must come immediately, and the Horns know it | Bohls
After the game, Texas coach Mike White acknowledged Oklahoma’s dominance while hoping his young squad absorbs some hard-earned lessons.
“It’s an incredible feat,” White said. “We know how tough it is just to get here, let alone win four. It’s an amazing achievement, especially for those classmen that were freshmen and now have four rings. That’s something that drives all of us to get better, to be able to come back and win.”
The teams traded the lead four times through a wild first four innings, and Texas seemed on the verge of reclaiming the lead in the sixth in a dramatic standoff between two of the Big 12’s best players. With Oklahoma clinging to a 5-3 lead and All-Big 12 third baseman Mia Scott at the plate for Texas, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso turned to ace Kelly Maxwell, who didn’t start for the first time in three games for the Sooners. Scott ripped a shot to first baseman Cydney Sanders and beat the throw as Joley Mitchell crossed home plate to trim OU’s lead to one run.
More: Reactions to Texas softball losing to Oklahoma in WCWS Final: ‘Texas will be back’
But in a bizarre sequence, Scott ran though first base and danced toward second while drawing the attention of the Sooners. Second baseman Avery Hodge then flipped the ball to Sanders, who tagged out Scott at first for the third out, which left shortstop Vivi Martinez stranded on third.
“I saw Mia Scott kind of come off the bag,” said Maxwell, who was voted the WCWS most outstanding player after going 3-0 while throwing 27 innings and allowing nine earned runs. “I was just telling Avery, ‘Turn around, turn around, let’s get her, c’mon!’ She finally heard me. We got it done. It was huge. I mean, they definitely had the momentum in that moment.”
Scott wasn’t available to talk to the media, but White said the play personifies the fearless style of play that has helped make her a three-time all-conference selection.
“That’s part of how she is; she’s really aggressive,” he said. “She pushes the envelope a lot of times. This time it didn’t work out. No one feels worse than Mia Scott right now. Everything happens for a reason. She’s cheeky. That’s part of her MO. That’s what she does. It was a big moment in that game. Everybody knows it. She’s already beaten herself up. I know she is. Hopefully she learns from that.”
Oklahoma dispensed with any more drama down the stretch. The Sooners put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Maxwell shut the door in the seventh with three straight outs.
The Sooners ended the game with 12 hits and the championship series with 21 total hits. Texas tallied its most runs against Oklahoma in six games this season, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Sooners from making history.
Oklahoma
The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma
TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — A Tulsa-based nonprofit is adding an immersive, walkthrough experience to its annual fundraising gala, aiming to give attendees a closer look at what survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking face — and how support services can help.
The Spring, which provides services to people impacted by domestic violence and human trafficking, will feature the walkthrough as part of Encounter Hope, its annual gala set for April 9 at the Arvest Convention Center.
The experience is designed to guide guests through the story of an abuse survivor across four stages of interaction with The Spring: the inciting incident, the crisis call, time at the emergency crisis shelter, and moving into safety.
“The idea is really to put you in the shoes of the people that we serve every day,” Allison Wells,
The Spring’s events and environments coordinator, said. “It’s easy to throw out stats about violence and trafficking in Oklahoma, throw out our service numbers each year, but these are really peoples’ lives. We want to put our attendees in the mindset of one person, one story. What would you do if you were facing this?”
After the walkthrough, attendees will have the opportunity to assemble move-in kits for The Spring’s shelter guests and write personal notes of encouragement.
The program portion of the evening will include a panel discussion hosted by Karen Larsen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored Tulsa’s Channel 2 for almost 30 years.
“Tulsa is an incredibly charitable city, and we know that these kinds of gala events aren’t rare here,” Leslie Clingenpeel, The Spring’s CEO, said. “Our goal is to go beyond the model of these fundraising-only type events. More than anything, we want people to understand what we do, to know that we’re here, to know what our frontline advocates are doing every single day. Domestic violence and trafficking are hard to look away from once you’re aware of them. We want to build that awareness to the people of this city.”
Individual tickets and table packages are available for purchase.
Attendees are encouraged to register before April 1 because space is limited.
More details and purchasing information are available at www.thespringok.org/encounterhope.
The Spring is a Tulsa-based nonprofit offering services to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.
The organization provides emergency crisis shelter, transitional living, and non-residential services.
More information is available at www.thespringok.org.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next
The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.
Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.
The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.
Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.
The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.
Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).
Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.
Late-game drama forces overtime
The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.
With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.
But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.
Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.
Cowboys respond after tough loss
The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.
The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.
The response was clear.
Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon
YUKON, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.
The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.
Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.
OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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